U.S.
Sen. Ron Johnson speaks to the Waukesha County Business
Alliance at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield on Friday
afternoon.Hannah Weikel/Freeman Staff

BROOKFIELD -
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, largely
focused on health care reform during a luncheon speech
with the Waukesha County Business Alliance at the
Sheraton Hotel on Friday.

Johnson was part
of the dissent of the most recent GOP health care
solution, but said he's hopeful an agreement will be
reached in the next week or two.

"We're not giving
up, I'm not giving up," Johnson said. "We are working
hard and we have to succeed on this one."

Johnson repeated
that he won't let perfect be the enemy of the good and
that he will vote on a bill that puts the health care
system in a better position than it is today.

An audience
member asked Johnson about the Joseph Project that he
started to connect unemployed people to manufacturing
jobs around Wisconsin, including Waukesha and Milwaukee
counties.

He said the
program is a success and it needs more people who are
dedicated to help fill jobs and inspire people in
Wisconsin to make good wages.

When asked about
Sen. John McCain's recent announcement that he has brain
cancer, Johnson said:

"John is just a
giant, he's larger than life. One of the true honors of
being able to serve with him, getting to know him,
travel overseas with him where in many countries he's a
national hero as well. He's an unbelievable fighter, a
true maverick and a true fighter ... He's feisty, he's
already talking about coming back right away ... He'll
fight this hard and certainly all of our prayers are
with he and his family."

Johnson was then
asked about President Donald Trump's intent, laid out in
his preliminary budget, to cut the Community Development
Block Grant, which allots federal funding to Waukesha
County and is distributed to Waukesha and other
municipalities for projects like the downtown rebranding
effort and the Meals on Wheels program.

Johnson said he
supports the president's intent to chip away at the
budget deficit, but doesn't think Congress will allow
funds for CDBG to fall by the wayside.